Current polarization sensitive solid state image sensors comprise a separately formed polarizing material which is mounted in the optical stack. However, the polarizing material is difficult to align accurately, and may also move during the sensor's operation, which can lead to derogation or loss of polarizing function.
Moreover, in a solid state image sensor manufacturing process, the step of aligning the polarizing material adds to the time taken and costs incurred. Furthermore, using existing technology, it is difficult or impractical to produce an image sensor with two or more regions which are sensitive to different polarizations of light, for example an image sensor that comprises a first horizontally polarized image sensor and a second, vertically polarized image sensor. At present, manufacture of such an image sensor would require the use of separate materials, and subsequent individual realignment on the sensor. It would be desirable to allow for the practical manufacture of several pixels, each with their own particular polarization sensitivity, on the same device.